Governor Chris Christie clarified his decision to remove the Common Core curriculum from schools in New Jersey this week. Many questioned Christie’s decision this week, claiming that he is reversing his previous support for the federal standards to better position himself for a run at the White House in 2016. While backing away from the Common Core will separate him from those who continue to support the vastly unpopular mandate, Christie maintains that a possible presidential run was not the primary motivation for his decision.

BELMAR, N.J.–Governor Chris Christie defended his decision to roll back the Common Core education standards in New Jersey and said that the large number of Republicans running for president shows that the country is dissatisfied with the current administration.

During an event Friday afternoon to promote the Jersey Shore, Mr. Christie said that the large field of Republicans was a sign that people wanted to move in a new direction, and voters would ultimately be the ones to weed out those who aren’t top-tier candidates.

“This is a free country. Anybody who is of the appropriate age, appropriate citizenship can run for president of the United States,” said Mr. Christie, who is considering a bid. “The way the field will be culled is people won’t get votes. And when you lose, you have to go home.”

Mr. Christie said Friday that his decision wasn’t a move to caterer to conservatives, but rather he had heard many complaints from New Jersey parents about the standards and that they weren’t working.

“We don’t have buy in from parents, we don’t have buy in from educators. They feel as if it’s been imposed upon them from Washington,” he said.

Those sentences encapsulate the entire opt-out movement quite nicely. The majority of parents no longer buy in. The majority of educators no longer buy in. The majority of students are flat out disgusted with the Common Core and despite a culture that demands that they not speak up, students are voicing their anger. No matter his motivation, he is acting on the will of the majority of New Jersey’s voters. If more governors chose to do the same, the end of the Common Core would be hastened considerably.

-Gabriel Diaz

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